The undesirable effects of the prevalent battle between cab aggregators are generally faced by its drivers. Opposing to the heaped up out-turns, Uber and Ola’s drivers are on a strike in major cities of the country. These cities include Bangalore, the base city of ride-hailing giant Ola; Hyderabad, Jaipur etc. Further, if the reports are to be believed, a full-time strike might just pop-out on January 26.
The strike is in regards to redundant income earned by the drivers mainly due to offered discounts and schemes to customers. The mobility giants offer massive concessions to their regular customers without counting in the vehicle’s in-charge.The concessions so provided are then bored by the driver decreasing their negligible income even more.This is done by them so to beat the other in a strife to hold the market share in the country.
Furthermore, both of them have expanded their product range and are continuously adding up vehicles to their fleet. The drivers in favor of the strike are against the extension and have asked the top level executives to stop the new registrations henceforth. As the addition of more vehicles decreases the cab bookings for the existing drivers. Thus, the drivers fail to keep up to the average bookings of a day.
According to agitating drivers, driver incentives have been dropped by 20-25% by the mentioned aggregators due to ongoing price wars between the two majors. The drivers hence claim that now the job has become physically and mentally exhausting. A few of them on the other hand, plan to join hands with new cab aggregators like UTOO, offering housing incentives to the drivers.
The slashed prices and inflation in fuel costs all accumulate and lead to low income for the taxi drivers. This is another time in the year that drivers protest against these corporates.Cabbies also say that flat rates for drops from and to the airport along with rising Olashare bookings have been a reason for the loss of faith in the aggregators.Previously, a section of Ola and Uber drivers in Hyderabad went on an indefinite hunger strike over similar unfulfilled demands.
Uber and Ola may or may not chose to engage in dialogue with the strikers, though a necessary action for continuity for the business is essential.
In a statement received by The Tech Portal, an Uber spokesperson says,
We strive to be a mobility option for everyone in Bengaluru and we regret the disruption caused to our rider and driver community by a small group of individuals. We remain committed to serving the city, ensuring driver partners can continue to access a stable income, while giving riders a convenient, reliable option to get around their city.
